Does anyone work in a field where alcohol all around you?

[eighty6drinking]

To hell with anonymity. Im a chef, I work in high class fine dining type restaurants. Almost every job ive had like that, alcohol is almost encouraged. All of us cooks would get handed free bottles of wine, beers while working, and I just started working in NYC where at the end of every night everyone is encouraged to drink beers, on the house of course. I want to quit drinking again but its all around me and its so dam hard. After a 10 hour hot sweaty shift in the kitchen and then you have people coming in and handing you icey cold beers. Anyone else work in field where alcohol use is basically encouraged? even on the job?

[Hilikus]

Just refuse the drink a couple times.. Eventually people will understand you won't have one unless you ask for it.

Just because they hand you a drink doesn't mean they are pouring it down your throat. ;)

[Twiggy]

Hi 86,

Oh yeah - I remember those days for sure.
The (free) drinks started when the last order was placed.
The drinking began in earnest when the last meal went out.
When the last party left (or more often before) we would hit the bar.

Too many nights,
too many drinks,
up too late,

a vicious circle every day.

BUT: it was fine dining and everything and everyone was beautiful
and special - even the drinks were elegant.

Drunkenness however; and crappy sleep, and hangovers, and thrown-away-days, are ugly as hell.

Through the years I did know a couple folks (including Chefs) who would automatically order a special drink:
a Perrier w/lime (like a Corona), or a club soda with lemon, or a diet coke in a rocks glass with a cherry - something
that they became known for for a cocktail. They were never thought less of because they didn't drink. The reason is
because they did their jobs really well and in the end, just like with theatre - isn't that the real measuring stick in kitchens??

Trust me brother, no one really gives a crap if you're drinking booze.
(Except the hardcore drunks - but they'll come around eventually).

One shift at a time-
One day at a time-
You can do this 86…


:)

[pabowhunter]

ya i know it sucks i went out the other night and drank soda for 5 hours and you know what my friends now have a designated driver and no one busts me that i dont drink anymore it all works out in the end , plus drunks are fun to watch!!!

[Rich]

...and what is wrong with having a edge over the others?

[Charlie]

I feel ya 86. I'm in real estate and there are always these little realtor events, wine tastings, my company sponsors a happy hour at a local bar. I've worked in the food service industry (nowhere near upscale) and substance abuse really runs amock within it.

But you know what? Alcohol is poison, pure and simple. That's what your liver says everytime you drink. "Hmmmm more poison, I need to work overtime getting this stuff out." As overwhelming as it seems, you have the opportunity to present yourself as someone who leads a healthy lifestyle. As time progresses, others drinking will kind of blend in with the rest of the environment.

If you're uncomfortable with it, pour yourself some tonic water and a lime (Ronnie's drink) or get some cranberry juice mix it with some club soda, and garnish it with a lemon. They're both kind of tart, and look as devious as anything else.

[Hoots]

Yep

[Marvin]

hi 86, im a chef myself also. and i was in the same boat as you. lots of free drinks. every night enough free alcohol to black me out. i left that job in hopes of quitting but i didn't. but i did have to pay for my drinks at this restaurant. this got expensive. then i quit drinking again, and i quit that job. im now at a place were shift drinks are given out maybe 3 times a year. alcohol is of course all around me and i cook with it all the time. for some reason it doesn't seem to effect me. from the wines to booze i don't even think about it as alcohol, but just another component to the recipe.

everyone that i work with also knows i do not drink and doesn't offer me anything which is nice. and if shift drinks are being given out they offer me a lime ricky, which is nice because i can get a refill on it and everyone else cant get another alcoholic beverage.

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[Indiglow]

Hey, 86, I'm not a chef, but I work in a field where many of our events and launches are awash with free alcohol; drinking is not just encouraged but expected. I found that after a few polite refusals and some initial pressure/ comments, most people just didn't care. It's just as easy to drink an icy lemonade as a beer, and my policy is always to keep a glass of tonic water/ lemonade in my hand throughout the evening.

Change your thinking. If someone offered you free rat poison, you wouldn't drink it just because it was free. Say you're off the booze for a bit for health reasons, ask your employers whether you can have free sparkling mineral water (the flavoured ones are nice), Diet Coke or tonic water instead. If you can't, buy your own non-alcoholic drinks. Change the pattern for a few weeks and you'd be surprised at how quickly people adapt.